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Presidential Priorities According to Sherzai
[Tolo News] In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, Presidential candidate Gul Agha Sherzai
...former governor of Kandahar province. The Taliban got their start protecting people against him...
spoke about what his priorities would be if he was elected to office in April, focusing on post-2014 security, corruption, rule of law and merit-based success.

The same week as leaders from across the country converge on the capital for President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
's Loya Jirga, Sherzai emphasized his belief that the Kabul-Washington Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) under discussion at the gathering would be essential to the country's security in the coming years.

With nearly all NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
coalition troops departing as the alliance's combat mission comes to an end in December of 2014, Sherzai said a partnership with the U.S. extending past that date would be beneficial for both countries. He was particularly adamant about what the U.S. could do to prevent meddling from neighboring countries as Afghanistan continues to develop alongisde a persistent bully boy conflict.

"We face interference from abroad, and still the war continues in Afghanistan," Sherzai told TOLOnews. "We must defend our nation from external interferences and the global powers should help us."

Many in Afghanistan have expressed anxiety about what could happen if a security pact between the U.S. and Afghanistan is not signed, and Sherzai is not the first of the Presidential candidates to emphasize the importance of the accord.

NATO officials in Brussels recently indicated that the continued involvement of the alliance in Afghan security affairs post-2014 would be predicated on a pact first being settled between Washington and Kabul.

Sherzai also spoke about the Taliban grinding of the peace processor, which remains stalled despite positive signs seen lately with Afghan officials planning to meet with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban second-in-command released by Pakistain, and recent remarks made by Mutasem Agha Jan on the part of Taliban headman Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
suggesting talks were on the horizon.

The Presidential candidate said he thought the grinding of the peace processor was important, but that he would go about things a little differently than they are being done now. For starters, he said the High Peace Council should be composed of a greater diversity of Afghan intellectuals and leaders.

Sherzai spoke about other non-security related priorities as well, including plans to fight administrative corruption, improve the rule of law and develop a culture of meritocracy in Afghanistan.

He said he and his Vice Presidents, Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi and Mohammad Hashim Zarea, would make a strong team. But he stressed that work performance would matter above all else, and if they did not live up to his standards, replacements would be found.

"I would have a good team with the help of Almighty God, and I swear that my vice-presidents would not last even one month if they don't perform," Sherzai said.

Sherzai is the former Governor of Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
and Kandahar provinces. He was one of the 10 Presidential candidates who made the Independent Election Commission's (IEC) preliminary list two weeks ago.

TOLOnews will be conducting interviews with each one of the Presedential candidates in the coming weeks.
Posted by: Fred 2013-11-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=379380